Blood of the Condor

synopsis

This work of docufiction, filmed in collaboration with the Quechua community of the Altiplano plateau, bears witness to the secret sterilizations of women carried out by American health workers as part of the Peace Corps in Bolivia. In a stark narrative about powerlessness, intransigence, and grief, the camera absorbs the faces of the local people and the high mountain landscape. The soundtrack, created by the Teatro Collasuyo group, creates a raw composition from ambient noises, sobs, and traditional instruments. The title refers to a sacred Andean bird, which becomes a metaphor for the sacrifice and resistance of the indigenous people against colonialism and violence.

“[The Blood of the Condor] is furious, lyrical, and unflinching—though it stops short of becoming didactic. In lieu of a traditional distribution strategy, Sanjinés and his team travelled around the Altiplano and small villages of western Bolivia with a projector, speakers, and a generator, showing the film on a white sheet. Sanjinés estimates 250,000 Bolivians saw the film, and protests in the capital inspired by the film’s critical portrayal of US intervention led to the expulsion of the Peace Corps from Bolivia in 1971.” — Lucia Ahrensdorf, Notebook Primer: The Grupo Ukamau

Source: Mubi Notebook

biography

Grupo Ukamau is a Bolivian film collective founded by Jorge Sanjinés and Óscar Soria in 1966. It espouses the method of “cine junto al pueblo” (filming alongside the people), i.e. films created together with communities, not just about them. It took its name from its debut film Ukamau (1966), which tells the story of revenge for the rape of an indigenous woman by a mestizo merchant. Ukamau means “that's how it is” in Aymara. Despite repeated bans, the collective's work has had a significant political impact. Today, it exists as a foundation with its own production and educational facilities.

film details

director:	Jorge Sanjinés Aramayo, Ukamau Group
cast:	Benedicta Mendoza Huanca, Vicente Veneros Salinas, Marcelino Yanahuaya
producer:	Mónica Bustillos Troche
script:	Oscar Soria, Jorge Sanjinés Aramayo
photography:	Antonio Eguino
editing:	Jorge Sanjinés Aramayo
music:	Alberto Villalpando
executive producer:	Ricardo Rada

contact

Pedro Lijerón Vargas/Entrecruzar Film
pedro@entrecruzar.com